


Whisky, Neat

by lasvegas_lights



Series: Drinks and Drumming [2]
Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Todd is an idiot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-25 22:11:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13222260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasvegas_lights/pseuds/lasvegas_lights
Summary: Amanda has a bad day and Martin's there to make it all better. Takes place four months after the events of Coffee, Black.





	Whisky, Neat

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired to write more! Thanks to setmeatopthepyre for helping me out with this next chapter in the story. I'm planning a final third chapter to finish things off.  
> Come find my on Tumblr: http://starlingbite.tumblr.com/

Amanda stormed into Rowdy3, slamming the door behind her and slid onto a stool with a loud huff. “Can you see it?” Amanda growled, “The huge grey cloud following me,” She explained, pointing upwards.

Martin’s eyes flicked up to where Amanda was pointing and then back down at his visibly upset girlfriend. “Bad day?”

Amanda’s face crumpled and she dropped her head down onto the bar. “The _worst._ ”

Without her needing to ask, he placed a glass in front of her and poured a generous helping of whisky into it. She lifted her head long enough to down the contents and then returned her forehead to the polished surface.

“I’ve heard bartenders are good listeners,” Martin offered. The bar was open for business but wouldn’t start getting busy for another few hours.

She sighed and lifted her head again to look at her boyfriend. “What did I do to deserve you?”

Martin smiled softly back at her, “I could ask _you_ the same question,” He slipped under the bar hatch and took a stool next to her. “So, what happened?”

“Well, my alarm didn’t go off this morning for starters, then when I got to work Friedkin was pissed at me for being late and decided to fire me.”

“Oh darlin, I’m sorry,” Martin reached out and slipped his hand into Amanda’s.

“I know it wasn’t my dream job, but it paid the bills.”

“I know,” Martin said softly, raising his other hand to tuck some loose hair back behind her ear.

“I got back to the apartment to find another complaint pushed under my door about my drumming, warning me if I practice again I’ll be reported” Amanda continued “Which won’t matter because I’ll probably have to sell my kit to pay the rent,” she sighed, “and if that’s not bad enough, my brother rang to tell me he’s decided to visit and plans to crash at mine for an undetermined length of time, probably because he’s broke, got himself evicted and expects me to pick up the pieces, _again._ ”

“Well, I’m here to help,” Martin poured her another drink, “Whatever you need.”

“And that’s why I-” Amanda stopped herself. “Why you’re the best,” she finished, knowing full well what she was about to blurt out, and she was pretty sure he knew too.

“Hey boss!” Both Amanda and Martin’s heads whipped around to Cross, standing in the doorway, a boot propping the door open. “Delivery’s here but it’s four cases, not fourteen and I’m pretty sure it’s the wrong shit anyway.”

“Fuck, I need to go sort this out, can you keep an eye on the bar for five?”

She didn’t hesitate, “Of course.”

He pressed a kiss to her temple and disappeared out the door with Cross.

She gulped down the glass he had refilled for her and slipped under the bar, already starting to feel better after two whiskies and being able to lighten her load with the help of Martin.

Four months had passed since Martin had first walked into the coffee shop and she now spent most of her spare time either in the bar or upstairs with Martin. They’d managed to get out on a few dates away from Rowdy3 including a couple of dinners hosted by fellow business owner friends of Martin’s, once to the cinema where Martin pulled the old ‘yawn, stretch and arm over the shoulders’ trick and more than a few times at the batting cages. Martin was a fiend with a baseball bat and Amanda always found herself a little hot under the collar afterwards, barely able to control herself on the car journey back to the bar, not that Martin complained.

She’d gotten to know Gripps, Cross and Vogel better too, joining them for barbeques on the roof and poker nights. Not that any of them were any good at cards. Poker nights tended to consist of drinking too much and devolved into silly dares and challenges. Last time Amanda woke up on Martin’s bathroom floor with the mother of all hangovers, wearing a tiara and Vogel’s leather jacket and little memory of the previous night.

Most of all she loved spending her evenings sitting on her favourite stool downstairs and watching the guys work. The way they played off each other and drew a crowd with their antics always had her laughing until she was crying and felt warm inside knowing she had been welcomed into their tight-knit family with ease.

It probably helped that she was completely and utterly besotted with the Martin and she was pretty sure the feeling was reciprocated. All in all, it had probably been the best four months of Amanda’s life.

Well, it had been until today.

She caught movement out of the corner of her eyes and put on a large smile as a customer approached the bar, “What can I get you?”

She got to work making the two rum and cokes which had been ordered, dropping a red straw into each glass and then dealt with the payment. As the patron took the glasses and walked back to his friend, she spotted Martin leaning against the bar, watching her work.

“What are you looking at?”

“You,” he answered without hesitation. She watched him launch himself over the bar, his boots landing on the other side with a thud. “Want a job?”

“Seriously?” Amanda’s eyes widened, “Wouldn’t that be weird, you being my boss?”

Martin rolled his eyes, “I’m not exactly the barking orders type. You’ve been here enough to know how things are run, you know how to work a till and the guys like having you around, why wouldn’t I want you working here?”

It did make sense.

“Plus,” Martin added, boxing her against the bar with an arm either side of her “It means you can stay over more often, I could empty out some space in the closet,” He offered. His voice was low and quiet and sent shivers down Amanda’s spine. She loved the way he pressed his body against hers. She hadn’t missed Martin suggesting taking the next step in their relationship.

“Okay, but only temporarily, until I find something else.”

“Perfect,” Martin pressed a kiss to her lips, happy with her answer.

“When do I start?”

“Right now.” Martin threw a bar towel at her which she caught against her chest, “How about you get your new boss a coffee, you know how I like it,” he grinned playfully.

“Not a chance,” She whipped the towel, slapping his ass with it. She quickly jumped out of his reach so he couldn’t retaliate, running into the back room with a cackle.

* * *

Her first shift couldn’t have gone better. It took her a while to get fully up to speed like the others but they all gave a little bit of slack and helped her out when she got in over her head.

There was quite a few men visiting the bar who agreed with Martin’s new hire and hung around the bar, always near to where Amanda was standing. She’d certainly had plenty of offers throughout the evening and easily rebuffed them all. If any of the men got too persistent, Martin was suddenly behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist possessively, pressing a kiss behind her ear and leaving Amanda grinning like an idiot. The men quickly realised they had no chance after that.

When there was a lull in customers, she sat on the end of the bar and watched Wendimoor, the house band, perform. She wished it could be her up there.

“You know,” Martin said into her ear as he draped himself over her, “I’m sure Silas wouldn’t mind if you practised on his kit before opening.”

Amanda spun around, “You think?”

Martin nodded, “I do.”

* * *

It was the next morning when her phone alerted her to a message from Todd, informing her of his arrival. He’d let himself into the apartment thanks to the spare key under a plant pot and was making himself at home. She hadn’t planned on staying over at Martin’s that night but they’d finished late and she had been so tired after her first shift that Martin had been forced to carry her up the stairs and help her into bed.

She had sighed loudly as she read the message and dropped the phone down next to her bowl of soggy cereal.

Martin looked at her questioningly from his spot next to her at the table, elbows deep in accounts. It was definitely his least favourite part of owning his own business and she had gotten used to him muttering and swearing as he worked.

“He’s arrived,” She explained, lifting her bare feet up to rest in his lap and Martin’s hand rested on her bare calf unconsciously. Even though they’d known each other a short time, she loved how comfortable they were around each other, like they’d been together years, not months.

“You should invite him over here.”

Amanda laughed until she realised Martin wasn’t laughing with her, “Oh, you were serious.”

“He’s your brother, I want to meet him.”

Amanda groaned, something inside her told her it wouldn’t be a good idea for them to meet. She left her coffee to go cold on the table and headed towards Martin’s bedroom.

“Where are you going?” He inquired to her retreating form.

“To hide your baseball bat!” She shouted back.

* * *

 

She messaged Todd back as soon as she was dressed and organised for him to come over to the bar at opening time. That would give her enough time to prepare herself for being in the same room as her older brother.

They had had a good relationship when they were younger and then when their parents had died, Todd became unbearably protective, convinced every little thing could hurt her. Whilst Amanda had made her escape when she turned eighteen, Todd had never really got his life together and somewhere along the road they had swapped roles. Amanda had been forced to bail him out of trouble more than once and look after him when he screwed things up repeatedly.

When Todd arrived, Amanda was busy stacking clean glasses ready for use and didn’t see him standing at the bar, looking out of place and awkward in an establishment Todd would never have walked into out of choice.

“So, this is where you work huh?” He said as a greeting, “I thought it was a coffee shop?”

Amanda gave a half shrug, unwilling to go into details about her very recent firing, “The pay’s better” She explained, realising she hadn’t even discussed what the pay would be with Martin.

Luckily, Martin appeared from somewhere at that moment, stopping beside Amanda and resting his hand on her hip possessively.

“You must be Todd.” He peered down at Todd over the top of his glasses.

“That’s me....and you must be _the boyfriend_.”

“Martin,” he growled.

“Martin, right, nice to meet you,” Todd held out his hand but Martin kept his hands where they were.

Amanda looked between her stony-faced boyfriend and her brother, looking like a rabbit caught in the headlights and felt sorry for him, only for a brief moment.

“Ice,” she announced suddenly, “We need more ice.”

Martin finally blinked, “Why don’t you come help me Todd.”

“Sure,” Todd smiled weakly.

“Just don’t kill him?” Amanda pleaded under her breath.

 “No promises.”

* * *

In the store room Martin went straight for the ice freezer, lifting the lid to start digging out a bucketful of ice cubes.

“So... you and my sister.”

Martin froze and slowly turned around to face Todd. “How about we talk about you and your sister instead.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

 “You think she wants you walking back into her life and screwing it all up?”

“I’m not...” Todd shook his head. “She's my sister, we're the only family each other has got.”

“I’m her family,” Martin snapped, “Me and Cripps and Vogel and Cross.”

Todd shook his head in confusion, “I don’t...who? She’s never mentioned-

“Here’s an idea,” Martin said angrily, cutting Todd off, “Go home, get your life together, and leave Amanda the fuck alone.” He turned back around and shovelled enough ice to fill the bucket, “Then when you're not relying on her to pick up all the pieces anymore, then and only then should you get back in touch.”

He lifted the heavier bucket out of the freezer and slammed the lid. When he had turned back around, Todd was no longer standing there and Amanda was standing in the doorway instead.

He sighed and placed the bucket down on the floor. “How much of that did you hear?”

“All of it.”

Martin winced, “And?”

Amanda stepped up towards Martin calmly, wrapped her arms around his neck and reached up on tiptoes to kiss him. He quickly got the message, pulled her tighter against him and kissed her back deeply.

“Thank you.”

He smiled, “You’re welcome.”

With her arms still wrapped around his neck, she hugged him tightly, “He’s gone by the way, he ran out the door practically knocking Vogel over in the process.” Martin snorted. “But he probably won’t show his face here for a while, he may even take your words to heart and sort himself out finally.” One of his hands stroked her hair whilst the other slipped up the back of her top to trace the tattoo he knew was there, leaving her feel like jell-o in his arms. “You’re my hero you know that?”

“How so?”

“I was having the worst day yesterday. I got fired you gave me a job. I couldn’t play my drums without getting complaints, you organise for me to practise here. My brother shows up and you give him the kick up the ass that he needs.”

“I don’t like seeing you upset,” he admitted.

“If we weren’t working right now I’d be giving you a proper thank you upstairs,” she emphasised the point by slowly rolling her hips into his.

“Manda,” Martin groaned. He only called her that when he was turned on.

She smiled at him innocently and slipped out of his grasp, “There’s some very special underwear in your future…. They’re lacy and there are these bows that-”

“Stop, I’m begging you!”

“You will be later, I promise,” She laughed and skipped out of the room.

Back out in the bar she was messing around with Gripps and Vogel like nothing had happened. Martin on the other hand needed a few minutes by the ice box to recover. She would be the death of him, he was sure.


End file.
